When did you last need help?

Julia | Akaroa

When Julia and her husband took over the Akaroa Butchery and moved to the Banks Peninsula they suddenly became a vital part of the small community.

“Last year my husband and I threw caution to the wind and changed our lives and bought the Akaroa butchery — which was our dream.

We needed help to come to grips with buying this business, coming from a background that was completely unrelated. My husband was a bricklayer for thirty-five years and I have had a career in design and writing and most recently, writing gardening books for the last six years. And working as an artist.

So this was a major move as a couple to do something together, to go on a bit of an adventure. It’s really a big thing to be in a small community. I had completely underestimated what it meant to take ownership of a business that the community has huge emotional ownership of.

And we were plunged front and centre into connecting. And that has been incredible. I love it. I love that, to a level, everyone knows everything about everyone else. It keeps you pretty honest. You can’t be a ridiculous person because the community won’t stand for it.

And it’s made me have this very deep feeling of loyalty.”

Our question for kaikōrero this month was “when did you last need help?” We learned about the diverse demands on the lives of New Zealanders and the incredible support networks they rely on.